Planet Protectors
by Fenton Hardy Fan
Summary: This is the story from an Ambush Game I'm hosting with my brother. It should more or less make sense to you even if you are not playing the game, but please keep in mind that much of what happens in the story is determined by the people roleplaying the characters. Characters taken from Star Wars, Star Trek, Merlin, Sherlock, Nancy Drew, and Blue's Clues.
1. Individual Beginnings

NANCY DREW

Nancy and George searched the small bedroom for clues to the identity of the occupant. There was a cot and along one wall stood a highboy. On another was a series of cupboards that reached from the floor to the ceiling. One had a grill metal front but the others were of solid wood. All the doors were locked. The girls opened the highboy drawers but found nothing inside.

George stared at the cupboards. "I sure wish we could get a look inside."

"I wonder," said Nancy, "if by any chance that pudgy man lives in this room and the key he dropped might open these cupboards. I'll get it."

She went upstairs and took the key from her purse. Nancy was back in a few minutes and inserted the key in the lock.

"It fits!" she exclaimed.

One by one the cupboards were opened. There were several books in one; the others held boxes of letters and other papers.

"These are all addressed to William Woonton at this address," Nancy said after examining several.

"And here's a diary," George spoke up, lifting a book from underneath a pile of papers. "It says _Diary of Gus Woonton._" When Nancy didn't respond, George looked up from the book in her hands, "Nancy?"

"Hm?" Nancy replied, staring intently at an envelope that she held.

"Nancy, what is it?" asked George.

"This envelope is addressed to me," explained Nancy, flipping the envelope so that George could read the neat script reading "Nancy Drew" across the front.

"That's… creepy," George said after a moment of thought.

Nancy broke open the envelope and pulled out a letter. "Congratulations Miss. Drew," she read, "you have been selected to participate in our inner-universal protection program. Compliance is compulsory and begins immediately. Thank you for your time, sincerely, your new instructors."

"I don't understand what the letter means," said George.

"Surely it doesn't mean anythi—" a wave of dizziness passed over Nancy. "George," her vision blured and Nancy reached out, grabbing George's arm to steady herself, "help me," she rasped, sinking to the floor and watching as the world began to fade to darkness…

YANE

Yane stood quietly behind Queen Amidala's throne, watching the proceedings before her with interest. It was a hologram from the Supreme Chancellor himself, who was explaining the current status of a legal inquest into the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo a year ago. Having been one of two handmaidens left behind on the planet when the Queen escaped with a pair of jedi knights, Yane had never met the man, but was greatly in favor of any government leader who fought to make the Neimoidians pay for what they had done. Once she would not have ever imagined thinking such thoughts, but her relatively short stay in a confinement camp had been enough to change her protective mindset to a more aggressive one.

Later that day she sat alone in the room she shared with Sache, quietly reading through a number of private messages from her family. Noticing a message with no listed sender, Yane curiously opened it, wondering how such a message could be sent. As her eyes scanned over the curious notification, Yane instinctively gripped her datapad tightly, even as she passed into the mind's night.

Dr. McCOY

Walking amongst the jungle vegetation, Dr. McCoy hoped that they were almost to the destroyed Federation outpost. As much as he disliked the transporter, he disliked just as much having to walk several miles because it was broken and there was no closer place to land a shuttlecraft. When he and Jim finally arrived, the survivors of the mysterious attack appeared glad to see them and he forgot his frustration, beginning to treat the wounded. A little girl approached him with wide eyes, "Are you the ship's doctor?" she asked in wonder.

"One of them," he replied, scanning the unconscious man in front of him.

"I think I have a letter for you," she blinked her wide blue eyes.

"Do you?"

"Yes, I found it on the ground outside my family's shelter," she extended a slightly burned piece of paper neatly folded and bearing the name Leonard McCoy.

Seeing this, McCoy put away his tricorder, "May I see that?"

"Of course." Handing over the letter she changed the subject, "I want to be a doctor when I grow up."

"I bet you'd be a good one," he smiled at her before opening the folded paper. Almost before he had finished reading the neat handwritten note, Dr. McCoy began to rapidly lose consciousness. The last sound he heard was the little girl's cry of surprise as he toppled to the ground.

MYCROFT HOLMES

Quietly walking into the Diogenes Club, Mycroft was accosted by a member of the staff who silently extended an ornate envelope to him. Taking the letter, Mycroft became puzzled. Everything about it was wrong, the paper too thick, the wax seal too rough, his name spelled out in golden letters across the front was misspelt. At once he imagined six different scenarios that would account for the letter, each equally ridiculous. Retreating to a place of privacy, he opened the envelope and read the message contained within in three seconds. Immediately he began to theorize with the new information, if this was one of Sherlock's pranks then there would be— His mind shut off abruptly, as if someone had flipped a light switch.

STEVE

"Mail time, mail time, mail time, mail time, mail time," sang unseen voices in five part harmony.

Steve took up the song, "Here's the mail. It never fails. It makes me want to wag my tail. When it comes I want to wail, 'MAAAIIIL!'"

As Mailbox entered through the window, Steve excitedly sat down in his Thinking Chair.

"Hi, Steve!" greeted Mailbox.

"Hi, Mailbox," he returned the greeting.

"Here's your letter," Mailbox swung his flag around in a complete circle and opened his door.

Reaching in, Steve pulled out a large white and black envelope, "Thanks, Mailbox."

"Yourrr welcome," replied Mailbox before pulling back out the window.

"We just got a letter. We just got a letter. We just got a letter. I wonder who it's from?" sang Steve before opening the flaps to reveal a picture of a young man and woman with purple eyes. "Look, Blue, it's a letter from, uh, who are you guys?"

The picture became a video, and the blond boy spoke, waving in a friendly manner as he did, "Hi, Steve! My sister and I are sending you this message to let you know that we need you to come over and help us."

Grinning, the girl added, "You'll get to meet a lot of new people, and learn new things, and see new places too."

"That sounds fun," said Steve, "do I need to skidoo into this letter?"

The girl laughed, "Oh, that won't be necessary," she pointed to the boy at her right, "he's got you covered."

The boy made a sound with the side of his mouth that sounded rather like "cht" before shutting his eyes, stretching out his hands, bowing his head, and slightly leaning forward. Steve felt a sensation not dissimilar to that of skidooing as the world blurred and he suddenly felt himself sprawl out on his back atop a strange floor.

GWAINE

Gwaine and Elyan cracked one-liners at each other as they engaged in a short mock-fight while they were supposed to be getting ready for a practice session with Arthur. However, they were never to discover which of them would win, (Gwaine was very sure it would be him,) because just then Merlin walked up. He held something behind his back, "So, you two have found lady friends, have you?" he said, grinning.

"I'm sorry?" inquired Elyan, who hadn't been seeing anyone.

Gwaine wondered which of his "lady friends" Merlin might be referring to, "What have you got for us, Merlin?" he asked playfully.

"Oh, nothing important, and I see that you two are about to head out to practice with Arthur, and I need to be heading that way myself, so perhaps we should discuss this later—"

With a fluid and practiced motion Gwaine raised his sword to point at Merlin's throat, casually smirking, "I think we'll have a look now, thank you." Playfully the servant raised his hands in surrender, revealing a pair of folded letters with the two knights' names written out across the front, one name per paper, in two different but clearly feminine handwriting styles. Lowering his sword, Gwaine took the letter addressed to him. Eagerly he opened it, only to discover a highly confusing message written in a different hand inside. "Merlin, what is this?"

"I found them lying on a bench beside the practice ground, and since Arthur was sending me to come and get you anyway, I thought I would bring them along." Now Merlin looked just as confused as the two knights.

"Ahh!" yelled Elyan, doubling over in pain.

"Elyan?" Merlin reached out to the man while Gwaine looked on, wondering if this was an act. Unexpectedly, he felt a sharp stab of pain in his own abdomen. He gasped. Clutching his sword he lowered himself to the ground as another, stronger pain swept through his body and a loud buzzing filled his ears. The last thing Gwaine saw was Merlin concernedly kneeling beside him, an image that quickly faded to black.


	2. Day 1: A Curious Situation

(Nancy Drew's Point of View)

A cold chill passed through Nancy's body, forcing her to wake up. She opened her eyes and looked around; George lay beside her on the carpeted floor. Sitting up and looking further with still-blurry vision, she saw an astonishing array of people and… distorted people, people with strange extensions growing from their heads, some of them brightly colored, sprawled out on the floor. To her left she saw a pair of men in chain mail with another beside them in a blue shirt and brown jacket. Many brightly clothed people lay to her right. Across the room, a man in a green striped shirt stood talking with two others, he saw her and waved. Noticing this, the two people he was talking with turned and walked toward her. Nancy sprung to her feet, "Stay back!" she placed herself between them and the still unconscious George.

One of them, the young woman, held up her hands placatingly, "It's all right," she spoke with a gentle voice, "we won't hurt you. I can help your friend." Nancy stared into her purple eyes before stepping aside. Watching carefully as the girl knelt beside George, she took in her white trousers and matching coat with a curious high dark collar. The girl's dark flowing hair draped onto the ground. As Nancy looked on, the woman poured a single drop of a sparkly red substance out of a small clear vial into George's mouth.

At once, Nancy's friend revived, "Who are you?" she cried, shoving away the girl beside her.

"George," the strange girl spoke, "I'm terribly sorry you've been dragged here, I suppose you must have been touching Nancy when she was taken."

"How do you know my name? What do you want with Nancy?" George appeared ready to clobber the speaker.

"Of course I know your name, do you think I did not read Nancy Drew's file once she had been selected?" she slipped the vial into a pocket, "As for what we want with your friend, it is our duty to train her for the protection of your own world. And I'm sorry, but this is one adventure in which you may not participate."

"If you think, I'm going to leave Nancy here with you weirdoes—"

"Oh, but you will." Gently, the girl placed her hand on George's shoulder. Before Nancy could speak, George disappeared. Turning to the detective, the stranger young woman explained, "We simply don't have the space to put up anyone who is accidentally brought along. Don't worry, I've sent her back to your own universe, and erased all memory of this incident from her mind. She'll never know you were away."

"I would like an explanation, now. What, precisely, is an," Nancy quoted from her letter, "'inner-universal protection program?' I gather from what you've said that I'm now in another universe, and that I'm expected to learn skills here to help me protect my own, but what skills? And who ARE you?"

"You ask more complex questions than you know, but I would say that I'm—"

"TWINS!" The sudden exclamation came from a middle aged woman that Nancy did not remember seeing in the room moments ago. This woman also had purple eyes, but her curly hair was flaming red. "Already you are falling behind schedule. Wake these people up and send the baggage back where it belongs. Quickly, now." Carelessly walking across the room, the woman stepped on the wrist of the young man with the two wearing chainmail. He stirred. "I expect a great deal from you, Twins, and if you don't deliver," Nancy did not care at all for the woman's threatening expression, "I'm sure I can find assistance for you this semester, and an alternate position in our society afterwards."

"That will not be necessary, Matran," spoke up the blond young man quickly, "now, seeing as you are undoubtedly busy, allow—"

"Cease your prattle, Twin." She pointed vigorously at the girl, "You! Send me home."

"As you wish," reaching out, the girl gestured, and the woman disappeared.

The young man straightened his tie, "We'd better get to work." Addressing the detective for the first time, he smiled, "Nancy, please be patient."

(Girl Twin's Point of View)

There was so much to do, so many people to return to their homes, so many explanations to give. Attending first to the young man awakened by Matran, she poured a drop of her elixir into his mouth. At once he left behind his dazed state and came to complete alertness. She saw his blue eyes turn to yellow for a fraction of a second before being tossed backwards several yards by an unseen force. Rolling to her feet, she began to explain the situation. The commotion woke the two knights, but fortunately by that point Merlin understood enough to prevent them from attacking her. Once she felt that all concerned were ready, she sent the young warlock home, seeing for a moment the place where he had been taken from, feeling the results of the powerful system that processed his mind as he left, erasing his knowledge of this place.

Again and again she repeated the process, sometimes endangered by those she awoke, other times not. The jedi were the most dangerous, so she awoke them next, losing two inches of her hair to Quinlan Vos's green lightsaber blade. When her soon-to-be students quickly grasped the situation she felt almost absurdly grateful, Mycroft understood everything almost at once. Others took almost ten minutes to comprehend. She most trusted the three men from the Federation of Planets, though they themselves came from two different universes. Captain Typho and Yane instinctively paired up, despite being separated by almost a decade of timeline.

Once everyone was at least mostly alert, her brother began his initiation speech. "Men and women of many worlds, welcome to the Big House. We will be instructing you in many subjects of which you have never before heard. You will be trained to protect your own universes from creatures and beings from other bubbles of reality. I suggest you get to know one another, learn from one another, become friends with one another if you can. Most likely you will never need to use the knowledge you gain here, and it will lie dormant in your minds, hidden until needed. If such a situation were ever to occur, your team would be deployed to aid you." Seeing that Owen Lars looked like he was about to ask a question, the young man hastily explained, "You have been sorted into teams. Each team will share a room, and work together to complete assignments designed to create a cohesive unit. Success in these tasks will earn your team points, and the team with the most points at the end of your stay will win the Device." On cue the girl pulled back the small black curtain on the wall beside her to reveal a small black device nestled in a well-protected alcove. "With the Device you may travel to any world you wish, to any time you wish. You may meet anyone, anywhere. You may fulfill your deepest desires. In short, this small, flat, and black box in nothing less than the equivalent of a magic genie in a bottle, ready to do your bidding. "

While everyone was still digesting this information, the girl shut the curtain. Grabbing a small stack of papers, she passed them out. "These are the room assignments, roommates are nonnegotiable for the duration of your stay, so I suggest you acclimate quickly."

ROOM 1

Quinlan Vos, Dr. McCoy, Gwaine.

ROOM 2

Steve, Owen Lars, Mr. Scott, Elyan

ROOM 3

Saesee Tiin, Captain Typho, Mycroft Holmes, Kevin Riley

ROOM 4

Nancy Drew, Shaak Ti, Yane, Luminara Unduli

As soon as the first papers listing the room assignments had been distributed, the girl began to pass out a second sheet.

It read: Vhvudib ovxjn rdoc v yzgps nvgvy rdgg wz nzmqzy ajw gpixc. - Bqmzgf ngffqd mzp vqxxk emzpiuotqe, (me iqxx me oarrqq, fqm, mzp taf oaoam,) iuxx nq mhmuxmnxq uz ftq puzuzs tmxx mf mxx fuyqe.

"Each team, for remember, all who are in a room form a team, may elect a leader who will be responsible for submitting that team's answer to each of the puzzles they are presented with. Only one answer per team will be accepted. No sharing your answers with another team. The point scheme for this is 3 points for a correct answer, 2 points for a partially correct answer, and 1 point for a wrong but particularly original or amusing answer, to be given out at our discretion."

The blond young man in the nice clothes picked up the conversation thread, "Now, go to your rooms to decode this message. If you wish to talk with those outside your room, I suggest you talk in the lobby or the dining hall. That is all."


	3. Room Description

Two pairs of wooden bunk beds provided a place to sleep. Each bunk held a thick but springless mattress covered by a white fitted sheet paired with a white cover sheet and light blue blanket. A neatly folded, soft, brown, extra blanket sat atop the foot of each bed while a fluffy pillow in a white case adorned the head.

A closet held nothing but a sturdy wood rod dangling a trio of empty metal hangers and an unopened package of red-wrapped sticks of gum.

Nestled in a corner, a white porcelain sink mounted to the wall provided a place to wash hands and other objects. It had a knob for cold water, and a knob for hot water, with a small bar of white soap.

Beside the sink sat a nightstand commandeered to hold a wide basket of white washcloths. A half dozen rubber bands lay scattered inside the top drawer amongst a few pointless pencils and almost empty pens. Mounted to the wall behind the stand was a mirror that hinged open to reveal six wine glasses, a few extra bars of soap, and several bottles of colored shampoo, red, green, and blue.

A door led to the hallway. Looking out over the building's small, brick courtyard, a pair of windows held up a set of ordinary window blinds. While the room contained a second wooden door, it led only to a sparse bathroom containing a large porcelain bathtub and toilet.


	4. Day 1 Conclusion: The Hosts Laugh it Up

Day 1 Conclusion

All of the students gathered that evening in the main room. The dark haired Twin sat at the back of the room, Mycroft observed as he walked past that she slept on her back at night and played a stringed instrument, almost certainly the cello. Nancy Drew stood talking with Steve. Luminara appeared to be studying the rules sheet at her desk. Gwaine scarfed down a sandwich that he had illegally brought into the classroom. Squabbling in the corner, Dr. McCoy and Yane debated the merits of their respective planets. Quietly meditating at his desk, Saesee Tiin, never appeared to notice when Quinlan Vos and Elyan began enthusiastically discussing swordplay in the aisle beside him.

"If I could have your attention, please?" spoke up the blond Twin from a slightly raised platform at the front of the room. "I have here the results from your first challenge. " He grabbed a sheet of paper off of a nearby wooden podium, "The first team to solve the two Caesar Ciphers was Room 4, who have been awarded 3 points for their fine work. Although it took them longer, Room 3 also came through with the correct solution, and have been awarded 2 points. Now for Room 2, it seems they almost considered 'V L ND B N BNAEN DL. – BEA BE ELLK AND, (A LL A EE, A, AND A,) LL BE AALABLE DNN ALL A ALL.' to be a possible solution, but fortunately and quite at the last second they realized the true answer. Finally, we come to Room 1. Although its most vocal member, Dr. McCoy, seemed rather confident in his dealings here, we have his solution, and it's, it's—" the blond Twin spontaneously broke out into a four second long tap dance before continuing. "Good gracious, instead of concluding the answer was, 'Amazing tacos with a delux salad will be served for lunch. – Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, (as well as coffee, tea, and hot cocoa,) will be available in the dining hall at all times.'" He laughed, "I'm sorry for having such a laugh at your expense, Bones, but after three years of this job I've never yet come across a person who could only guess that perhaps the first part of the message was "an audio" and let it rest at that!" After a few moments of leaning against the podium and laughing some more, the Twin pulled himself together, but those seated near the back of the room could still hear his sister snickering. He began to speak again, "A new challenge will be given to you tomorrow, and of quite a different nature I assure you. Also, just a friendly reminder, the Room's final answer must be sent to us via the private messaging system for it to count, we've given you some leeway today since it's all new to you, but tomorrow that rule will be enforced mightily. Now, all of you, go to your rooms, you will want to be well rested for your classes and tomorrow's challenge."


	5. Night 1: Everything Falls Apart

One at a time or in pairs, the students retired to their rooms. Later that night, two of them met out in the darkened hallway as they had planned beforehand. "Does this feel crazy to you? It feels crazy to me," whispered one.

"What if someone sees us?" replied the other.

"Wait a moment, I've got an idea," spoke the first one again before slipping back into a room. Moments later, the being returned holding a pair of folded brown blankets and a handful of rubber bands. "We can make ourselves cloaks with these." After a great deal of fussing about, the pair snuck down the stairs hooded and covered by the blankets. "I can handle the security system well enough," hissed the one as they entered the classroom, are you sure you're up to opening the safe?"

"Of course, I'll just ask it to let me in."

"I know sarcasm when I hear it. You don't have to share your secrets with me if you don't want to."

Forty-three minutes later the two returned to their beds in possession of the Device, never guessing the chaos to be wreaked because of their actions.

In another room, the Twins slept peacefully, He propped up against the wall beside his lower bunk—She draped over the blanket and sheet on her top bunk with her long hair flowing down over the edge. When the security system had been disabled the boy had shifted, almost awakening, but now all was perfectly quiet, peaceful, and still. Without warning the door of their room burst inwards, and a crazed Captain Typho stood silhouetted against the bright light on in the hallway. The blond Twin jerked awake, seeing the man uncomprehendingly and wondering who had left the light on in the hallway. Before he had a chance to gather his thoughts, the man was upon him. Kicking out instinctively, the boy threw him off for a moment, but he stood little chance against this security man. "Jess!" he franticly yelled at his twin before a pair of strong hands closed around his throat.

Above, the girl stirred, blinking heavily, "Lann?"

The boy tried to call out, but he could not seem to pull any air into his lungs, or force any out. He had little time left, and with his last moment of thought called out, "_Jess! I need you NOW._"

Captain Typho felt when the young man lost consciousness and released him, only to grab a handful of blond hair and slam the boy's head into the ground. Raising his hand to repeat the action, he heard the girl bolt up and jump down to land on the floor behind him. Releasing the handful of hair, the man turned to see the girl wince as her brother's head fell limply to the floor. She looked into his good eye for a moment and seemed to draw a conclusion that frightened her mightily. "No. No!" she spoke softly but with passion, "It's impossible." Standing, the man wondered what frightened her, as she did not actually seem to be afraid of him. He stepped towards her. She stepped back. He stepped forward again. Unexpectedly, she threw out a hand and her purple eyes glowed, "I'm sorry!" she cried as he felt a fiery pain rush through his body.

In another universe, Captain Typho woke with a start from where he lay on the floor. Vaguely remembering a strange note, he pushed himself up. Glancing at the monitor, he saw no trace of a message. Something had knocked him out though, and that could only mean trouble. Drawing his blaster, he left to go check on the senator.

In the dim room where the Twins were, the girl knelt beside her brother, fighting to hold back tears. Gently she placed a hand on his shoulder, sending him to their secret place. Then she sat waiting. Minutes passed. Finally, when she thought she couldn't wait any longer, it happened. One second she sat in the darkened bedroom, the next she found herself in a forest beside a stream. Dappled sunlight fell on the mossy ground and water cheerily flowed past. "_It certainly took you long enough to come around,_" she thought playfully to him.

"_Sorry._"

"_Are you alright, Lann?_"

He moved to sit on a large rock beside her, "Yeah, I'm fine." Without thinking about it he ran a hand over his neck, "_physically fine anyhow._"

"Glad to hear it," she smiled at him, "this is one of those times that I wish I slept less soundly." For a few minutes they sat quietly. "I wish," she paused, "I wish," unable to bring herself to say it aloud she continued, "_I wish we didn't have to go back."_

Echoing her fear in his own eyes, Lann thought back, "_So do I. But if we put it off much long longer Matran will have someone summon us back against our will._"

Tossing a pebble into the stream, she replied vocally, "May as well try to keep a shred of dignity. Are you ready?"

He grinned crookedly at her, "As I'll ever be." She reached out to grab his wrist as he sent a farewell, "_And perhaps what lies ahead isn't nearly as bad as we imagine._"

Lann jumped to his feet as soon as he found himself in his bedroom. Quickly he glanced around; no one seemed to be in the hallway. Perhaps he should sent Matran a message before trying to figure out what had gone wrong with the security system. He could feel with his mind that it was back online. Wait a minute, they hadn't turned it back on. Which could only mean—he reached out with his mind to summon Jess.

Without warning, two pairs of hands grabbed his and forced him to his knees. It was hard to see from this position, as the back of his shoulders were pushed down towards the ground, but he raised his head just in time to see Matran walk around to stand in front of him. "You Twins are truly the most incompetent instructors we've ever had," she sounded irate, "never before has anyone allowed the entire security system to become compromised."

"How did the system fail?"

"Catastrophically, and purposefully. One of your students seems to have forced a shutdown of the entire system," Matran informed him.

"Whatever method Captain Typho used must have created a telepathic spark that drove him to violence, my Twin was forced to banish him back to his own world," he tried to look as contrite as possible.

To his surprise, Matran slapped him, "Idiot. Zealots capitalized on the shutdown to insert their own protocols into several of your students."

"So Typho's mind couldn't cope with the inserted programing and he went crazy until my sister sent him home and reversed everything." He couldn't believe how badly this semester was going. "Okay," he looked up at Matran hopefully, "just tell me the students who've been tampered with and I'll summon my Twin and she can send them home." Lann received another slap; he wasn't sure why precisely—his words, his expression, his tone? Just as well his sister missed this; perhaps Matran would release most of her violent impulses out on him before he summoned Jess.

"We don't know," Matran informed him.

No wonder she was so irate, now they would have to send everyone home and start over with a new batch, thought Lann. "If your people would let up on my arms, I'll take the first step towards sending everyone back h—Ahh!" A sharp pain stabbed into his left shoulder.

"Oh, but my dear Twin, we won't be sending anyone back, not yet," Lann recognized the girlish voice at his side.

"Bri? What are you doing here? I thought the government's finest had better things to do than oversee the protection of the lesser universes." He was going to regret saying that.

As expected, another burst of pain ensued, longer this time, leaving him hanging limp in the hands of the pair holding him. A male voice spoke up from his right, "We certainly do, but when the Zealots are involved they send in the best. You didn't expect everything would be left in YOUR hands, did you? We've devised a method by which we should discover the Zealot scum AND train your students in only a few days."

"And what is that?" Lann tried to sound as inoffensive as possible.

"Tell him, Nick, after all, it was your idea," said the girl.

"Every day," began Nick, "we will have all of the students vote off one of their own. This way they're forced to learn the skills they need in a matter of days, and we get rid of the Zealot scum at the same time."

"That's stupid," Lann paused, realizing no matter what he said next Bri would take it as an excuse to use her ability and hurt him, "What if they vote off someone who hasn't been modified?"

Barely able to hear Nick respond over the spasm that overtook his body, Lann made out the callus reply of, "Then the loyal ones will have to learn from it and move on. Honestly, you Twins are far too considerate."

"That's enough," interjected Matran, "We've got a **talented** pair on the job now, and I'm sure these local Twins know better than to argue with their superiors." She lifted Lann's head, "You can comply now, or I'll leave you with Bri for a few minutes, and then you'll comply. Which will it be?" Lann nodded. "I thought as much, now I will inform your student body of the new arrangement, while you summon your Twin. Quickly, I've no patience to put up with slackers tonight." Matran walked out of the room without looking back.

Nick and Bri unceremoniously dropped Lann, who stood unsteadily. Desperately he stretched with his mind to summon Jess, usually he could find and bring her in a heartbeat. Now for some reason he couldn't find her anywhere, which could only mean two things. Lann glanced over at Nick, who leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed. "Please, Nick, let me bring her over now." The dark haired young man smirked back. "Look, I know that as twins we're in the dregs of society, we've never seen eye-to-eye on matters of importance, that you are both exceptionally proud of all you've done despite being twins too, and you hold our line of work in contempt." Bri's chilling smile distracted him for a moment, "And let's be honest, you both feel safer about your places when assured that all the other twins are kept in places of submission. Not to mention the fact that Bri absolutely loves to use her power."

Shifting slightly, Nick uncrossed his arms, "This is a less than entertaining speech, Twin."

"My point is that right now you want nothing more than an excuse to make me look bad and suffer, which sounds rather unhealthy as life goals if you ask me."

"We didn't," interrupted Bri, cupping her green hair behind an ear.

"Anyway, you shouldn't allow your personal feelings to interfere with performing a job in the most efficient manner possible. So just let me do what Matran asked, please?" Lann tried to think of an enticement to end with, "You'll have plenty of other chances to hurt both of us no doubt."

"Fair point," conceded Nick, "come, sister."

Sighing, Lann watched as they walked away, it was going to be a long week.


	6. Day 2 Conclusion: Discovering a Scum

As the second day of the semester drew to a close, everyone again gathered in the main classroom. However, the overall mood felt vastly different. A careful investigation during the day had lead the leaders to announce that with a doubt, Steve had been banished by a student programmed to help a group referred to only as Zealots. A bit of good news was the information that a bug in the Zealot's program had caused abilities able to counter some of the scummy traitors' own had been inserted into those some of those still loyal. Naturally, it annoyed everyone that no one could figure out who had received these abilities.

Furthermore, the Twins' demeanor had changed rather dramatically overnight. Before both of them had been lively and carefree, now the students could all tell that they were frightened. The observant among them could see clearly that their instructors were looking over their shoulders, worried about the actions of the other twins who had come in the night. While still officially in charge, it was the dark haired boy and his sister with green tresses who now stood in the positions of power. Not that the Twins made it easy to see, they worked hard to preserve positive fronts, and even now moments of genuine mirth and happiness would show in their faces.

To begin, the dark haired Twin read the results of the day's puzzle. "Congratulations once again to Room 4, the first team to message us with a correct solution. They have received 5 points for a Room total of 8 points," seated together, the girls appeared pleased with themselves as the announcements continued. "Room 3 has been given 3 points for a total of 5 points," Mycroft appeared frustrated that his group had failed to pull ahead. "Room 2 was awarded 2 points for a total of 4 points." Elyan enthusiastically slapped Mr. Scott on the back. "And Room 1 also provided the correct solution and have been given 1 point, for a team total of" now was one of the moments to contain a genuine laugh from the Twins, "a team total of 1 point."

"Who's da man!" shouted Dr. McCoy.

Everyone laughed. Nancy noticed however that the girl up front seemed to choke on her laughter after a second or two. She placed her piece of paper on the podium before raising her hands in a gesture asking for silence. When the room was quite, she continued with her announcements, "I'm afraid that there is one more matter that must be dealt with tonight before we all retire for the night." T

The green haired girl called Bri left her place leaning against the wall at the back of the room and began to walk forward. When she was beside Dr. McCoy, she stopped, "Come with me," she ordered, grabbing the man's blue sleeve. When Bones did not at once jump to his feet she sent a harsh pain into his chest, "You **will **come with me." This time the doctor stood and followed her from the room. Everyone except Mycroft avoided eye contact with the man as Bri lead him away.

Moments later, muffled yet gut-wrenching cries of agony seeped into the room through closed doors. Minutes later, the two re-entered, the doctor unable to stay on his feet, instead collapsing to the floor at Bri's feet. "This man has been voted by the majority to be scum." She declared, "Under mounting accusations, he admitted the claim to be correct. I have now verified it." Flicking a finger she watched as the man at her feet writhed in pain. Only Nick watched without flinching. Bri looked down and stopped sending out pain, "As you have been found guilty by this body you will now be banished forever from this universe."

"Jess," those near the front of the room heard the blond Twin prompt his sister, who jerked out of her stunned state and hurried to the fallen man's side.

"She has a name?" whispered Yane to Shaak Ti who sat on her left, "I just thought of her as Twin, now it turns out she's called 'Jess.'"

Jess sat on the ground beside Dr. McCoy. Tenderly she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Bones, I know this isn't your fault. It's time to send you back now, and I promise that you will have no memory of this place. Any abilities that have been added to you here will be permanently removed." She smiled a wet smile, "Return to your captain," she whispered just before sending him away.

From the front of the room, the blond Twin spoke up, "That's all for tonight folks, you are dismissed."


	7. Day 3 Intro: An Impossible Event

On the morning of the student's third day of this weird experience, the blond Twin started the day with a roll call.

"Elyan?"

"I'm here."

"Gwaine?"

Gwaine thunked down his tankard of ale on his desk, "Me too."

"Kevin Riley?"

"Lieutenant Riley checking in for duty." He tapped his pencil eraser on the table as he spoke.

"Luminara Unduli?"

"I am present."

"Mr. Scott?"

"Aye."

"Mycroft Holmes?"

Seeming bored with the situation, he replied, "Present. Everyone is accounted for; must we go through with this extraneous roll call?"

Ignoring Mycroft's suggestion disguised as a question, the boy Twin continued to read down his list, "Nancy Drew?"

"Present!" She seemed the most alert, and everyone figured she was a morning person.

"Owen Lars?"

"Yeah?"

"Quinlan Vos?"

The jedi ignited his lightsaber in reply.

"Saesee Tiin?"

"Present."

"Shaak Ti?"

"I am here also," she replied calmly.

"Yane?"

"At your service."

"Well, that's everyone, at least no one was banished in the night," the dark haired Twin, Jess, announced.

"What about me?" came a voice from the back of the room.

Everyone turned to look, and saw Steve standing in the doorway!

"Uh, um, everyone should begin to discuss who will be voted off today. And um, get ready for the day's puzzle… This should be an interesting explanation…" flubbed the blond Twin.


	8. Day 3 Conclusion: Two Banishments

As the third day drew to a close, again the students gathered. Elyan and Gwaine were planning a joust, (though without lances or horses, such a match seemed unlikely to materialize,) while Yane continued to insist that she could hold her own against them in such an event. Nearby, Quinlan Vos sat thinking that this "jousting" sport sounded rather fun, when he remarked as much to Luminara as she walked past, she just shot him a look before seating herself down in the fourth row beside Nancy Drew. Shrugging, Vos stood and casually walked to seat himself in the first row. Placing as much distance between himself and his two roommates as was possible, Mycroft Holmes sat at the far end of the third row, wondering how beings could be so unintelligent. Owen Lars napped, resting his head on his arm. Steve leaned back in his chair, twisting his body to talk with Kevin Riley, who sat behind him. At the back of the room, the girl Twin sat talking with Scotty, who drummed his fingers nervously on the table. Tension hung in the air.

When Shaak Ti walked in with Saesee Tiin, every head turned to see if it was the boy Twin, or maybe those other twins, or Matran. Upon mentally registering the fact that it was only the last two students, everyone returned to their previous pastime, except Owen, who had slept through the event and continued to do so.

Finally, Matran strode into the room, followed by Bri and Nick, the trio looking rather epic and serious. The boy Lann stepped in after them, but only a few of the students bothered to notice him. "As there was no puzzle today," Matran's strong voice needed no external amplification, "an error on the part of the Twins for which I have taken them to task," she stared daggers at the two for a second, "I will proceed directly to the matter at hand, namely, the expulsion of one Montgomery Scott."

"I keep telling you, I'm not some bloody Zealot. I don't even know what that means!" protested the man in his Scottish accent.

"The Zealots are an organization dedicated to the single objective of opening travel to the Protected Planet," Matran snapped, acting as if every child knew such simple information.

"Yes, that's what you told us yesterday mornin' and I don't understand it any better now. Where is this planet, what is it protected from, the Zealots?"

Stepping to the front of the platform at the head of the room, the blond Twin began speaking without waiting to see if any of his superiors would respond. "Normally, you would have received a lecture on the Protected Planet and the Zealots, but since Matran has determined that this voting process is so important and efficient, she has not allowed the usual course of lectures to proceed. Now however, since you mention it, I'll explain."

"I don't see how this is necessary," interrupted Nick.

Lann turned to him, "Oh, and have you ever sampled your twin's ability?" everyone was surprised at his harsh tone, "I have. And this poor man is about to undergo several minutes with her. The _least_ we can do is answer his questions."

Taken aback, the dark haired boy stepped back a smidgen. Taking this as a sign of agreement, the blond Twin began to address the students again, "The Protected Planet needs to be kept from any Zealot travelers, yes, but that's not heart of the matter." He pressed a button on the top of the podium, and a hologram appeared, "Does anyone recognize this planet?"

Kevin Riley beat everyone to the punch, "It's planet Earth."

"Correct! However this is not the world you come from. Nor is it the planet from which we've taken Miss Drew, though it is more like hers than yours. Indeed, it's most like Mr. Holmes's world, not identical, but similar. The supreme task of my people is to protect this lone sphere and its universe, for it is believed to be the fountain from which all others have come."

"Come now," interrupted the green haired girl, "don't go spouting unsupported superstitious nonsense, no one has been able to conclusively prove that new universes spring from this one, it's just as likely that it is _we_ who sustain _it_."

"That may be," the Twin wrestled back the conversation, "but it's a matter of fact that no inner-universal paths to this world exist. We've constructed an observation post, and have watched the millenniums pass on its surface." Pressing the button on the podium again, the image shifted, now it appeared to be a montage of video footage. "This is a mix of live feeds." Everyone watched interestedly, only one person able to identify all of the technology and clothing styles, of course, he often read a great deal more than that. Riley was reminded of a movie he had seen once that had been a piece of speculative fiction dealing with the concept of World War III never occurring. After a few minutes, Lann began to speak again, "The Zealots believe that they must liberate this Planet from its isolation. You have been brought together to learn to protect your own universes from unwanted invasion or intrusion by members of other universes. Now our simple security failure has enabled the Zealots to program a few of you to act as their agents in your own worlds, a dangerous first step towards them achieving their goal."

Deciding that this constituted a full explanation, Matran shut down the hologram, "Thank you Twin for the information, now I believe Mr. Scott must prepare to return home."

Grinning in a way that unnerved everyone present, Bri stepped down from the platform. Jess gripped the red-shirted shoulder beside her, "It'll all be over soon, I promise. And I'm sorry."

"Don't bother to try and run," Bri's sweet voice floated across the room, I can hurt you from here you know.

Minutes later, the two re-entered the room, Bri still using her natural ability to make others suffer. When she stopped the man collapsed. Bri announced her findings, "When he won't admit to being a scummy Zealot traitor, I don't know that I believe him." Walking up the aisle she continued, "I don't think I believe him when he claims to be loyal either." It almost sounded as if the girl were pouting, "I've never yet been unable to determine the truth like this. Permission to interrogate further?"

Saesee Tiin rose from his seat and stepped into the aisle, blocking the green haired twin's way. "There has been enough torture today," he placed a hand on his lightsaber hilt, "leave the man alone."

Bri stretched to her highest, a less than impressive height, and tossed a long strand of hair over her shoulder, "How dare you speak to me in this way!" she sounded dangerously angry. As she finished speaking, both her eyes glowed, and spasms of pain engulfed the jedi. Drawing his lightsaber anyway, Saesee attempted to attack, but his own body betrayed him, sending him tumbling to the floor. "Send him back," she ordered Jess.

"What? But he hasn't been voted off," pointed out the dark haired Twin, rising from her seat.

"You will send back this impudent, wretched excuse for a sentient being right now," Bri's voice lowered in tone and pace, "or I will personally see to your punishment for disobeying a direct order."

"As you wish," now Jess tossed her hair before stepping over to the still in torment jedi, "I will send them both back at once." She knelt and touched the jedi, who disappeared.

"Good." The girls eyed each other as Jess moved over to the Federation man, settling to the floor beside his head.

"Oh, Scotty…" she gazed down at him.

He looked up into her purple eyes, and saw so much compassion, "It's all right, lass. I get to return home now," he comforted her.

"Aye," Jess blinked back tears she wanted to hide, "that you do." As gently as possible, she sent him home, feeling as the system wiped his mind of everything that had happened here, of everyone he had met, of her and her Twin. "That you do."


	9. Day 4 Introduction: Mancakes

As the sun rose on the student's fourth day, Nancy Drew sat up. She meditatively followed the ever-brightening sunrise with her eyes. At least she had made it through another night without being banished, the very thought of not following this investigation to its conclusion made her unhappy. Hoping that her friends and family were not too worried about her absence, she dressed and walked out into the hallway on her way to breakfast. Spotting a pink piece of paper taped to the wall, the young sleuth read what was written on it by hand with marker, "I came. I saw. I ate a Mancake. ~Julius Caesar on conquering the Gauls."

"Why, I'm rather certain that's not what he said," Nancy murmured to herself, "And what is a Mancake, I wonder?"

Just then Yane walked out into the hallway too, dressed in her usual flame colored robes; she spotted a different paper taped to the wall. This one was tan and read, "Never interrupt your enemies when they are eating Mancakes. ~Napoleon"

"Nancy, what's a Mancake?" she asked, "And who is Napoleon?"

Elsewhere in the Big House, and about an hour later, the two occupants of Room 1 exited their room to see a different pair of signs reading, "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to eat a Mancake! ~Winston Churchill" and the even more confusing to Quinlan Vos and Gwaine, "Aye. Eat and you may die. Run, and you'll live… at least for a while. And munching your wheaties years from now would you be willin' to trade all the breakfasts for just one chance to come back here and say that we may lose our lives, but we'll never lose… OUR MANCAKES!"

"I wager I could eat more of these Mancakes than you, Quinlan," bragged Gwaine.

"Did I never mention that I have a rare Force ability often referred to as Force Eat?" countered Vos. The two roommates walked down the hall to breakfast, each hoping that Mancakes would be served so that they could out-eat the other.

On their way they passed many other signs, all of them confusing to a knight and jedi except for the one reading, "I don't really like Mancakes. ~Said No One Ever" written on a blue piece of paper. Fortunately, for the students, the signs had in fact been advertising that morning's breakfast, thick pancakes filled with M&Ms and nuts.

Unfortunately for the Twins, breakfast turned into a fierce eating contest between Gwaine, Elyan, Quinlan, Yane, and Owen Lars. Lars was the first to drop out. Although she held her own for a while, Yane's small stature worked against her and she too had to concede the match. Many, many Mancakes later, Quinlan eventually scraped out a win.

The match had the unintended consequence of making these three about an hour late for the morning meeting. However, everyone vouched for their presence and the Twins took role-call, again discovering that no one had disappeared overnight. Once the three competitive eaters staggered into the classroom, the girl Twin began to explain the day's puzzle. "Today's puzzle is a two part environmental puzzle. Each of you will return to your respective rooms. Once there, you will see two computers mounted into the wall. One features a screen containing an image, an image which you must duplicate using only items in your room. (OOC: You may also use the single items that each character brought with them from their universe.)

The other will play four tones. It is your task to replicate these four tones in the same order for the machine, though once you achieve a note, you need not repeat it if you create a wrong note while trying for the next tone. You may use anything in your room but the machine will not accept singing, humming, or whistling. (OOC: Once again, you may also use the single items that each character brought with them from their universe if you like.) You may now leave and begin to work out solutions with your roommates. The first workable solution we receive for each of the two segments will earn an extra point. The two components will be graded separately. There may be more than one way to solve these. You may now return to your rooms and begin to work.


	10. Day 4 Conclusion: Not Again

Luminara Unduli sat talking with the brown haired twin girl, who occupied her common place at the back of the classroom. Clearly Jess was waiting for Owen Lars to enter, at which point she would take him aside to await the moment of his expulsion. Sensing the girl's unease, Luminara considered voicing her sympathies, but instead took the conversation down another path, "May I ask a question about your species?"

Jess shook off her preoccupation, "Certainly, ask away."

"I have noticed that you and your Twin, as well as the other two twins, seem to have special abilities. Is this common among your people?"

"Oh yes, almost everyone is born with one. Admittedly, many end up with rather unhelpful special abilities. The little girl who lived next-door to us, she could turn things into candy."

"I imagine a young child would highly prize such a skill."

"Perhaps she did, but it was rather problematic since she couldn't turn things back to their original form." The girl paused, "She transformed our house, the _entire_ house."

"That must have been hard for you."

"Yes, though it hardly matters now."

"You and family live somewhere else I assume?" Luminara asked, though she could tell from the Twin's emotions the true answer promised to be of a more unhappy nature.

"Of course my family has a new home, but we aren't likely to see it again," realizing that the wording of "we" left several possible meanings, she elaborated, "My Twin and I." Luminara watched as the girl breathed deeply, on the outside she appeared nearly calm, but the jedi could sense internally Jess neared a breaking point. Then the girl mastered the overwhelming emotions and began to speak again, "Everything that has happened here is because of a security breach, which will be attributed to criminal negligence on our part. It isn't fair, the security system was supposed to be infallible, and it always runs, we made no error. By the laws of our people, we must stay and attempt to fix what has happened, but after that… This was no simple mistake in the eyes of the law, the Zealots are involved, the chief purpose of our people endangered. We will be tried once all of you have left, at once, and with a verdict of "guilty" a certainty."

"I am sorry that our presence here has brought such pain into your life," Luminara forced eye contact.

The Twin shook her head, "It isn't your fault, Master Unduli."

"May I ask what your punishment will be? If it is an intrusion?"

"Not at all. Society here tends to mistrust twins, you might've noticed. Lann and I are powerful in our own way because of the meshing of our abilities, and we can speak to each other telepathically. Fortunately, it's still rather taboo to separate twins, so we'll be shipped off together, possibly so that our talents can be used in a mundane capacity at some backwater government outpost, probably to hard labor on some prison planet. It's… rather distressing to think about, really."

"My apologies." Sensing Owen Lars enter the room, she stood, "I believe I should join my roommates, thank you for your time."

"You're welcome."

Minutes later the blond Twin began to speak, berating the students for not solving the day's puzzle, "Not even Room 4 suggested a solution," he drummed his fingers on the podium, "my Twin and I have decided to extend this puzzle through tomorrow also. So at least give it a try next time." Walking away from the podium, Lann stopped at the edge of the platform, "I'll be brief. By a unanimous vote of eight, Owen Lars has been convicted of being a programed Zealot. He will now leave the room and Bri will discover his affiliation. Then my Twin will send him home, regardless of the outcome, because Matran believes Nick's theory that this will make all of you wiser somehow. Can we just get this over with? I believe Bri is waiting outside the room." He watched as his sister lead the young moisture farmer away.

Perhaps ten minutes later Bri re-entered the room, slamming open the door. "Gah!" she screamed, throwing out her hands from her sides and sending a wave of pain through everyone present. Once the various exclamations of pain subsided, she spat out, "I must declare him to be UNKNOWN." She abruptly flung the door shut in Jess's face, speaking with derision, "Twin has sent him back. If you inferiors do not begin to select obvious Zealots soon, then I will begin to dole out punishment accordingly. Now get out of here. Go!" Again everyone doubled over, crying out, then straightened and quickly left, though most still tried to hold on to their dignity.


	11. Day 5 Intro: In Which Several are Late

Most of the students slept fitfully on the fourth night of their stay. Most of the students finally fell into a deep sleep just before sunrise. Most of the students were late for the morning assembly. There were exceptions to each of these statements of course. Gwaine and Quinlan dropped off as soon as they touched their beds and slept like logs all night, Kevin Riley never even fully fell asleep, and not a single one of the girls were late for the assembly.

Through great willpower, Kevin Riley managed to be only 9 minutes late to the morning assembly. He sat down at his desk, glancing at his remaining roommate, who affected not to see him. Very well, perhaps there was something else interesting to look at. Behind him the four females sat primly, while in the row ahead Steve sat by himself. The man in the green striped shirt yawned, "Good morning, Pencil." Watching in amazement, Riley wondered if Steve had lost him mind, as the man held what sounded like a one-sided conversation with a writing implement.

Three minutes later Elyan entered and struck up a conversation with his roommate. Five minutes after that Quinlan Vos and Gwaine sauntered in. Everyone stared at them, though some were more subtle than others. At the front of the room, the blond Twin, Lann, stood propping himself up on the podium, impatiently drumming his fingers, "If you gentlemen would take a seat, we can begin," he sounded irritated. Grinning, Gwaine gave Vos a friendly shove before sitting down.

As the dark-haired Twin walked towards the front of the room, taking roll-call, Gwaine leaned over, whispering, "What do you think, if you ask the cooks, will they make us more Mancakes for lunch? I'm ready for a rematch."

"You want me to outeat you again? I've got Force Eat on my side after all," the jedi replied under his breath.

"What makes you think that you could beat me twice? I've won—" Gwaine noticed the silence in the room, deciding that his name must have been called, he loudly proclaimed, "Here."

Jess raised an eyebrow, "Why thank you, Master Vos."

Gwaine heard Elyan muffle a snicker, as the girl continued, "Well, that's everyone, give or take a few wrong responses to roll-call." Her Twin laughed for a second, shaking his head. Kevin appreciated that about their hosts; for all their troubles, these Twins always seemed able to bounce back to an upbeat mood. "Okay, everyone, I think you know the drill by now," Jess called, standing on the floor at the base of the platform.

"Talk, investigate, solve the puzzle, and vote," explained Lann, "That's it, folks. You are dismissed."


	12. Day 5 Conclusion: An Investigation

As the sun began to set behind the mountains, the students gathered again. Nancy Drew struck up a conversation with Elyan. The set time to begin the traditional expulsion ritual came and went, the Twins clearly were waiting for someone. Nancy glanced around as she spoke with Elyan, one, two, three… seven eight… she counted in her head. Only eight? There should have been nine students around her. She continued to talk with the knight, while thinking back over who stood in the room. Seconds later she politely excused herself from the conversation. Yane was missing. Most likely the handmaiden was afraid to face her appointment with the girl named Bri.

Nancy quietly left the room, walking the deserted hallways thoughtfully. Where would she hide in order to evade the hosts at this strange school? Thinking it over, she considered the kitchen, the closets, perhaps the roof would make an ideal hiding place? Then she realized that in the end none of these places would suffice, (though the roof would certainly be her choice,) because as long as she remained on the grounds they would eventually find her. Breaking into a run, the young sleuth burst into her room. It was darker than usual, with the window blinds closed. She noticed one of the blinds move almost imperceptibly. Grabbing the cord, Nancy pulled down, revealing the open window. Sticking her head out, she looked down three straight stories to the brick courtyard below. There was no evidence on the windowsill that a rope or other device had been used to lower the handmaiden down… Perhaps this was a red herring.

Looking outside once again, she tried to imagine how a girl would climb down. A green wooden walkway connected the two ends of the "U" shaped building, one walkway at each level. Nancy smiled as she eyed the open air bridge, if a person climbed onto the outside of the handrail, and lowered herself down to the walkway below, she could reach the ground in safety. Hurriedly, Nancy ran from the room and down the steep flights of stairs leading to the ground floor. Running past a startled woman guarding the door, the detective dashed to the ground at the base of the three walkways. "Halt!" cried the guard, "Students are not permitted to leave the Big House."

"I'm afraid one already has, ma'am, just this afternoon." Nancy explained.

"That's impossible; I've been standing guard over the only door in or out of the building for the last five hours. Now I'm afraid I'll have to escort you—"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but she never used the door, instead she climbed down here." Nancy grabbed the guard's flashlight and shone it around, "Look, you can see a long red thread caught between two boards on the lowest crossing point, see?" Nancy explained.

"Oh." The guard seemed disappointed for a moment, then brightened, "You seem like a clever girl, you want to come with me to apprehend her?"

"Yes please!" exclaimed Nancy.

"Off we go then." The two of them scouted the area carefully. Finally, their scrutiny paid off when the guard found a set of faint tracks through a dusty patch of ground. "We'll need some transportation if we hope to catch up to her quickly. I'll see what's in the parking lot today." Minutes later, the woman appeared with a sporty, convertible, vehicle that hovered over the ground instead resting on a set of tires. "Get in!" called the woman.

Nancy scrambled in without hesitation. Together, the two followed the direction indicated by the tracks. From time to time they would stop to check their course. Sometimes they lost the trail, but in the end always found it again. Thirty minutes later, they abandoned the strange craft when they reached a steep embankment. A few minutes of searching lead them to Yane herself. "Yane, wait!" yelled Nancy at the fleeing figure.

"I'm not going back there!" stated the handmaiden forcefully. "Our mission must be fulfilled, and the Planet freed forever."

"Did you just confess to being a Zealot?" inquired the guard, placing a hand on her holstered weapon.

"I—" Yane disappeared before she could finish her sentence.

"My, I _have_ been think," Nancy muttered to herself, "the boy Twin could call us to him from another universe; once they decided Yane wouldn't show up on her own, he could have just summoned her. He _did _summon her." Turning to the guard, she asked, "May I have a ride back to the Big House, please?"

"Course you can. Let's go."

When Nancy Drew ran into the classroom, hair windswept from the speeder ride, she found that she had missed the entire segment in which Bri callously tortured the day's suspected Zealot. Rather glad of this, she slipped into her seat just in time to hear the green haired girl's pronouncement as Jess sent Yane home. "I have found her to be," Bri paused almost imperceptibly in order to be more dramatic, "a Zealot! Good work everyone, now go to bed and do the same tomorrow."


	13. Day 6 Intro: An Important Puzzle

Jess stayed up late reading that night. Finishing her book, she flicked out her reading light, stretched out on her back, and realized that she was quite thirsty. With a sigh, the girl quietly crept out down from her top bunk. She grabbed a glass from behind the mirror and filled it at the sink. Once all thirst had been sated, she turned to climb back into bed. A faint scuffing noise in the hallway caught her attention. Silently, she walked across the room and eased open the hall door. Curious, the lights were out. The Twin took a few steps out of her bedroom, every sense alert for an ambush. A smooth feeling underfoot alerted the girl to a small piece of paper on the floor. Picking it up, she returned to her room, where she shone her reading light on it. An encoded message stared back at her. Too tired to work on it now, she thought that perhaps she could have the students solve it for her by giving it to them instead of tomorrow's planned puzzle. Yes, that was a good plan, she thought as she once again stretched out atop her bed.

Lann was quite pleased to officially announce after roll-call next morning that no one had disappeared. He also handed watched with interest as his Twin passed out the papers containing the new puzzle. The conversation between them this morning had been most interesting. He curiously examined the message copied on his own page, before passing on the usual instructions to solve the puzzle and decide to expel this evening. (See the code below.)

45-23-24-44 15-54-13-15-41-45-24-35-34-11-32 35-41-41-35-43-45-51-34-24-45-55 21-35-43 51-44 24-44 42-51-24-13-31-32-55 44-32-24-41-41-24-34-22 11-53-11-55. N ayqe tlze vaym N iyz, jebjlcjyuunzc yz yttnmnzyp kosgeim yvanpe syih, som loj rljiek ayqe zlm yimet vnkepw.


End file.
